


Take on the night (to reach the morning)

by MYuzuki



Series: No matter what’s in front of me (I’ll keep fighting til I’ve won) [40]
Category: Final Fantasy XV, Kingsglaive
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Emergency Meeting From Hell, Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, and I love it so much that it's a tag now lol, someone described it that way in the comments section for the last chapter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:01:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26717158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MYuzuki/pseuds/MYuzuki
Summary: The meeting starts off tense, with the members of Regis's council openly glaring at Ardyn when he saunters in to sit between Nyx and Cor, his hat tipped at a rakish angle as he gives them all one of those sly smiles that makes you wonder if you're about to get a knife between the shoulder blades.
Series: No matter what’s in front of me (I’ll keep fighting til I’ve won) [40]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1897525
Comments: 16
Kudos: 122





	Take on the night (to reach the morning)

**Author's Note:**

> I have nothing much to say at the moment, other than a heartfelt thank you to all you amazing readers for all your support! <3 You guys are awesome, and I'm so happy you're enjoying this series so far. (Can you believe we've reached drabble #40?!)
> 
> In any case, there is a bit of a ramble at the end of this drabble, if you're interested in a little background/clarification on certain aspects of the plot. (But definitely wait until after you read the chapter to check it out, because otherwise there are some spoilers.)

**Take on the night (to reach the morning)**

* * *

The meeting starts off tense, with the members of Regis's council openly glaring at Ardyn when he saunters in to sit between Nyx and Cor, his hat tipped at a rakish angle as he gives them all one of those sly smiles that makes you wonder if you're about to get a knife between the shoulder blades.

Nyx heaves a large sigh, wincing when it aggravates his still-cracked ribs, and resigns himself to experiencing what is probably going to be the worst council meeting he will ever have to sit through.

Regis opens up the meeting by thanking everyone for their attendance, his gaze lingering pointedly on Ardyn (whose gaze remains fixed on a decorative tapestry on the far wall, as if he finds the pattern incredibly interesting all of a sudden now that he's being offered up genuine gratitude from one of his descendants for something as simple as attending an emergency council session) before he transitions into a brief explanation of what the meeting is about.

Then it's Nyx's turn to speak, so he stands up and relates to the council everything that had transpired during that night at the failing haven. He skims over the details of the fights as much as he can (because it's not pertinent information when it comes to the actual problem they're going to be discussing), but does take the time to stress the fact that whatever is going wrong is a serious problem, and that if it had been anyone else out there, up against waves of lesser daemons and a bloodthirsty Cerberus, they would almost definitely be dead.

"I can't say whether or not that haven losing its power was fluke," he concludes at the end of his report, "but honestly we can't afford to assume it is, not when people could get killed because of such an oversight."

"Commander Ulric is correct," Regis says, easily picking up the verbal reins of the meeting as Nyx steps down and slumps back into his seat, one arm draped carefully across his aching ribs in a way that makes Cor and Ardyn both slant him assessing looks that he ignores. "The safety of our citizens is our most important duty, and so we will approach this problem with the utmost care to which it is due." He takes a deep breath, seeming to gather his thoughts together before speaking again. "I have spoken with Lady Lunafreya," he goes on, inclining his head to the Oracle in question, who is seated across the table, just to the left of Noctis, who has his advisor Ignis on his right and his protector Gladiolus leaning against the wall behind him, "and unfortunately we have been unable to determine why the power of the havens might be losing their potency. Therefore, our first priority will be to-"

"To realize that you're all fools?" Ardyn puts in, tone sharp and darkly amused even as he looks at Lunafreya with an intense expression on his face, gaze dark and thoughtful.

Nyx barely resists the urge to slump forward and bury his face in his hands with a groan. "Ardyn, come on," he mutters. "Play nice."

Ardyn slants him a smirk. "You should know better than to ask such a thing of me," he returns, then turns serious as he continues speaking. "Your precious havens are failing," he informs the council, "because the magic with which they function hasn't been replenished in over a decade."

"What are you talking about?" a councilwoman asks, scowling in a way that highlights the sharp angles of her cheekbones. "The havens don't need to be replenished, that's ridiculous."

Ardyn gives a bark of laughter, the sound bouncing off the walls of the council room like a mocking echo. "What's ridiculous is how completely ignorant you are of something upon which you are so dependent," he replies, voice dripping with a condescending sort of pity. "Truly, you must not understand much about the havens at all, to be operating on such misinformation."

A moment of tense, unpleasant silence, then, "It is possible that I'm not entirely familiar with the intricacies of how the havens operate," Lunafreya admits, tone halting as all eyes in the room turn to her. "My mother Sylva did her best to tutor me on what would be expected of me as an Oracle, yet she was not able to impart all of her wisdom to me before-" She swallows hard, ghosts of the past chasing themselves across her face in flashes of grief and sorrow before she buries them beneath an expression of false serenity. "Before her death during the invasion of Tenebrae," she finishes, tone only slightly strained.

Noctis reaches out a hand to Lunafreya, who returns the grip with a shaky smile, even as the council room erupts into chatter once more.

"You clearly know more about that havens than you are saying," Clarus says now, speaking to Ardyn directly. "Would you care to enlighten us about what you think is happening to weaken their power? Explain for us the history behind them, so that we might understand what it is we're missing?"

"How amusing," Ardyn says with a smirk, "to think that the great lords and ladies of Lucis need a history lesson from someone like myself. I must admit, after being so greatly reviled to the point of being _erased_ from the annals of that history, it's quite a gratifying moment."

There's some angry mumbling amongst the nobles seated around the table, and for a moment it looks like someone might say something regrettable to cause the meeting to devolve into violence, but then Noctis surprises everyone by speaking up, his face carefully blank but his voice cutting through the furious chatter in the room with surprisingly effectiveness.

"We'd appreciate any insight you're able to offer," he says, the waver of nervousness in his voice quickly buried beneath a thin veneer of calm. "although I can understand if you feel like we don't deserve the help after everything you've been through."

Ardyn, uncharacteristically, seems at a loss for words for a moment, his gaze riveted on Noctis for a moment, something like startlement shading the edges of his expression along with a strange sort of vulnerability before he masks it all with another sharp smile. "Very well," he says, tipping his head in the prince's direction. "A history lesson it is, then."

A few seconds pass as they all settle into their seats more comfortably, waiting for Ardyn to gather his thoughts, and then the former Chancellor speaks.

"When havens were first created," Ardyn begins, "Aera, the first Oracle, realized that in order for the protective magics to remain at optimum strength they would need to be renewed on a somewhat regular basis; smaller havens can typically last up to a decade without any additional magic being put into them, but larger havens that see more activity should have their energy replenished on a yearly basis. Traditionally, this would be done as pilgrimage of sorts," he adds, making a vague sweeping gesture with one hand. "The Oracle would travel across the land, renewing the strength of the havens and connecting with the people all in one fell swoop."

"But the havens have been holding strong the past _twelve_ years without incident," a council-member puts in, brows drawn down in a severe frown. "Ever since Lady Sylva was killed and Lady Lunafreya captured by the Empire. Why would they fail only _now_ , if an Oracle truly is supposed to imbue them with power on a regular basis?"

"Well," Ardyn says, offering up a sharp smile, "until now we've been playing along with the plans of the gods, haven't we? One might be able to safely assume that they were allowing the magic of the havens to last a little longer, given that it was their own machinations that prevented the Oracle from performing her divine duties. And now that we've veered off-script, they're no longer supplementing those protective magics."

"If we're being technical," Nyx feels obligated to say, "technically it was _your_ machinations that prevented the Oracle from performing her duties. You know, what with how you sided with Empire and encouraged them to attack Tenebrae and all that."

Ardyn scoffs. "Aldercapt would have set his sights on Tenebrae sooner or later without any encouragement from me," he replies, "but I do concede that my actions might have exacerbated the situation slightly."

"Slightly?" Nyx asks, torn between incredulity and rage, but before he can say anything else Regis waves his hand in a cutting off motion.

"Casting blame at this stage serves no one," the King announces, "and will only waste valuable time that could be spent trying to find a solution to the problem."

"The solution is rather _obvious_ ," Ardyn remarks, tone faintly condescending as he surveys the councilpersons who are watching him with varying levels of mistrust and outright hatred. "The Oracle must go on a pilgrimage to restore the magic of the havens."

A long stretch of silence descends upon the room as they all think that over.

Then, "That isn't an option," one councilman declares, looking vaguely outraged. "Lady Lunafreya has only recently been returned to us safely, and now you suggest sending her out into the world while we are still in the middle of a war? Preposterous!"

Ardyn shrugs, looking totally unconcerned. "Well, in that case the havens will continue to fail and people will continue to die from daemon attacks."

Nyx curses under his breath along with the rest of the council, because letting that happen really isn't an option; after all, the Starscourge may not be spreading exponentially anymore now that the primary carrier has been rid of the taint, but the daemons that remain in the wilderness are still a considerable threat. And that threat needs to be addressed, through preventative and protective measures like havens.

The council room devolves into a bit of a shouting match after that, everyone tossing out ideas and insults with every breath, until Lunafreya stands up from her chair with a fierce expression that reminds Nyx of another version of the princess in another life, one who had leapt from a speeding air shuttle with nothing but faith and determination on her side, one who would have put on the Ring of the Lucii herself if Nyx hadn't stepped in.

"I will go on a pilgrimage to restore the havens," she announces, the words carrying the weight of a promise.

And then, before anyone even has a chance to respond, Noctis stands as well, equally resolute in his bearing. "And I will go with her," he says.

The meeting room explodes into a cacophony of shouting and chatter, and all Nyx can do is laugh and laugh and _laugh_ as the council devolves into a tangle of chaos.

 _Well_ , he thinks, torn between worry and pride and a sharp-edged sort of amusement, _I didn't see that coming at all._

**Author's Note:**

> So! I hope you enjoyed all of that. ;D
> 
> Anyway, just for clarification: Ardyn is correct, in this 'verse the havens are traditionally imbued with mystical power by the Oracle to keep the protective magics strong and effective, and that magic needs to be replenished every so often (sort of like how you need to recharge your phone or something, or else it shuts down). That being said, the council has a point, about how the havens were functioning alright despite Luna being unable to perform her duties as Oracle in that capacity (and in fact being totally unaware that that was even a thing she was supposed to do, since her mother Sylva was killed before she taught her about it, which brings us around full circle to the secondary reason why the havens are losing their power at this specific moment in time. Basically, the havens losing some of their power *right now* is due to the Astrals (specifically Bahamut) being passive aggressive about how our boys circumvented destiny. Like, they're not doing anything overtly antagonistic towards Nyx or Noctis or even Ardyn, but Bahamut is (canonically) a dick who doesn't think very much of the human race, so he's basically going "You didn't do what I wanted, so I'm going to fuck with the havens to punish you" because he doesn't think they actually have what it takes to get the havens functional again without divine help. (Spoiler alert: they can and they will, and Bahamut can suck it).
> 
> Also, for further clarification: for the purposes of this fic series, Luna's Oracle powers have no negative impact whatsoever on her health or lifespan (meaning that fulfilling her duty as Oracle won't kill her; worst case scenario is that she'll maybe faint or something if she overdoes it on the magic) because I've never been fond of the whole "don't be upset Lunafreya was pointlessly killed because she was going to die anyway from using her Oracle powers!" because that is an equally pointless plot point that only serves to irritate me. XP


End file.
